Sundal

Another season of Navrathri winds to an end. The festival honors the three important Hindu Goddesses - Lakshmi (The Goddess of wealth and prosperity), Durga/Parvathi (The Goddess of Power), and Sarawathi (The Goddess of Knowledge). In the South, figurines and clay dolls of these Goddesses (and other deities) are displayed in step-like structures. This display is called Golu. Women folk are invited to admire and worship these deities, and are handed prasad (an eatable believed to be blessed by the Gods) along with other little gifts. In the South, this prasad is usually some form of Sundal.

Sundal is actually a very simple yet healthy snack, especially for vegetarians. Boiled/cooked pulses/dhals/nuts are garnished with a flavorful seasoning of mustard, chillies, hing, salt, and coconut grating. This is a significant manner of enriching vegetarians’ protein intake. Why is sundal provided during Navrathri, you may ask? I have no clue. If you do, please enlighten me! But, this doesn’t mean sundals are consumed only during Navrathri - they are healthy, filling snacks that are made quite often. Navrathri just results in copious consumption levels! (especially if you’re a kid and go from door to door collecting sundal packets in exchange for a devotional song you blare out - very much like collecting candies during Halloween - minus the singing!)

The basic cooking formula for Sundals is:

Formula

1. 2 (or more) cups of any pulse/gram/beans - black-eyed beans, garbanzo beans (chickpeas), green sprouts, peanuts, black channa dhal, rajma, black beans... etc. Basically any kind of food that is protein rich, and that can hold its shape after being cooked. Yellow lentils (toor dhal) for example becomes mushy when cooked, so it won’t make a nice sundal.
2. Soak the dhal/beans for a minimum of 6 hours (most beans require this time, it’s more of a rule of thumb) and then cook them till they are tender. (obviously you wouldn’t follow these steps if you use the canned versions)
3. Heat a small quantity of oil (olive oil or vegetable oil) in a pan. Splutter a teaspoon of black mustard seeds, add ½ teaspoon of hing, 3-4 dried red chillies (or green chillies) as per your preferred spice intake, and a few curry leaves.
4. Immediately add the cooked beans/dhal and saute on medium heat till they get coated in the oil and spices. Add 1 teaspoon (or less) of salt and mix well.
5. Finally add a handful (okay, half a handful) of grated coconut, and mix well. Turn off the heat.

Starting from Left in Clock-wise order - black channa dhal based sundal, black-eyed beans sundal, and chickpeas sundal

Sundal is ready to be served. Chickpeas sundal and peanut sundal are the most popular, commonly made varieties. Sundal can also have ingredients such as finely diced, spiced raw mangoes in them - the kind served at the beach. Most people are paranoid of adding coconut gratings/milk these days. But unless one’s cholesterol levels are already very high, I think one can still afford to add a few sprinkles :). As I keep saying, everything in moderation will work fine.

Using the above simple formula, you can innovate as much as you like! For instance, you can also add some onions, tomatoes, and perhaps a few other diced vegetables and turn it into a sundal-salad.